Asia

Best Asian films

If you’re looking for the best Asian films, there’s plenty to choose from. Asia holds approximately 60% of the world’s population, so it’s no surprise the continent has a wealth of great films. The continent hosts one of the world’s largest (if not the largest) film industries in India’s Bollywood, the most famous animation studio outside the U.S. in Japan’s Studio Ghibli, as well as the second largest film market in the world by box office receipts in China (second only to the U.S.).

But that’s not all. The Iranian art-house cinema scene is still booming despite government bans. Southeast Asia holds two of the most famous torch-bearers of the transcendental film movement in Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Lav Diaz. Plus, there’s South Korean, Bong Joon-ho, whose Parasite became the first foreign language film to win the Best Picture. And we haven’t even mentioned the growing film presence of the countries in Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, and the Caucasus.

So scroll down to see some of the best Asian films. Or, if you know where you want to go, pick a country from the links below.

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, East Timor, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon,Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

*We’re still looking for the best Asian films from countries without links. Send us your recommendations.

Okja (South Korea)

Okja Film Difficulty Ranking: 1

At last, a film on Film Root that you can watch with a large popcorn and coke. It’s just like the Hollywood blockbusters you are familiar with and you can watch it on Netflix! It has a recognizable cast, action, clear demarcations between good and evil, and drama. You’ll also get Film Root points for watching this, as it is made by Korean Bong Joon-ho and features a bit of Korean! So have a day off from the art-house and slow films usually on here and enjoy!

Here’s a teaser trailer (no spoilers this time)

Why Watch Okja?

It’s a Hollywood film, it’s mostly in English, and it’s on Netflix! It’s an easy way for you to say you’ve watched an international film!
To see more from Bong Joon-ho, the great Korean director behind The Host and Snowpiercer
Learn about the brutal side of the food industry (to learn even more check out Food Inc)
If you like cute pigs!

Breakdown

You’ll see the high heeled Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) open the film with a swanky presentation that is one part Steve Jobs and two parts Pop Idol. She introduces Mirando (a rip on the real life Monsanto) and their latest innovation that will solve world hunger: a Super Pig.

For the Pop Idol twist, Lucy Mirando introduces a worldwide competition. She will send a bunch of Super Pigs to the best farmers from around the world and see who can raise the best Super Pig.

Sure enough, one of these Super Pigs is sent to Korea. As next we follow Mija, the young farm girl who takes care of Okja.

From the scenes with Okja and Mija, the director makes it clear that Okja is more than just a piece of meat. Okja helps Mija catch fish and harvest fruit and even saves Mija’s life in one of the opening scenes. These early scenes with Mija and Okja establish that Okja is a sentient and intelligent being.

However, Mirando, like the real life Monsanto and any good capitalist business is all about profit margins. Despite the best PR attempts of Lucy to hide her company’s lack of responsibility, it is obvious to us that they are bad!

Conclusion

Okja brings the ugly corporate controlled food industry to Hollywood with style! It has everything you want if you’re used to Hollywood blockbusters and you can watch it at home on Netflix!

Favourite quotes from the film (the first is also a personal goal of mine):

“Learn a new language – it opens doors!”

“Translations are sacred”

Mysterious Object at Noon

Mysterious Object at Noon Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Are you looking for something new? If you’re tired of watching films which all look the same then we have something for you here. Mysterious Object at Noon explores the role of storytelling in film by creating a game of Exquisite Corpse (where you create the start of the story and get different people to write the next lines). People from all across Thailand give their input, through a range of storytelling devices. If you’re a fan of creativity, give this film a go!

Why Watch Mysterious Object at Noon?

Have you seen a Thai film before? If you have, great to hear, here’s another one, if you haven’t hears something interesting to start you off!
To see the parts of Thailand that you probably won’t see from the tourist resorts
To see the debut from innovative Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Explore the world of storytelling through a wide range of arts: music, theatre, sign language, writing, and spoken word.
Did you know after the war

The Breakdown

Once upon a time… Mysterious Object at Noon starts with the famous four letter opening. It marks the fine division between non-fiction and fiction that the film will follow. The camera starts at the front of a vehicle driving along a highway in the Thai capital, Bangkok. Whilst Thai music blares through the radio, the driver takes an exit and within a few turns is in what could be the country. We hear a voice on the loudspeaker:

“Fish sauce for your curry…Tuna fish is coming…steamed of salted”

The camera then cuts to a woman sitting in the back of the fish sales truck and the director starts interviewing her. We learn that her father sold her to her Aunt and Uncle for the price of a bus fare! She never went home again. The shots of the lady telling the story are cut with shots of election posters with men in smart suits. Is Apichatpong implying this hardship was the fault of the government?

After she tells her story, Apichatpong asks the lady if she has any other stories to tell us, true or fake. This question sets up the game of Exquisite Corpse that Apichatpong plays for the rest of the film. He travels around the country asking the next person or group of people he meets to add a few more lines to the story he starts with. We hear parts added from kids at a school, from a theatre production, an old woman, and more. In this regard it is a celebration of the creative process, and the imagination of people. However, the myth/story they create is a mess. As put by one lady:

“My story is not really connected. I just made it up in an instant”

Conclusion

Once you realise that Apichatpong is playing a game of Exquisite Corpse the film gains meaning. It is a puzzle of stories from across the country. It is also a puzzle of images collected from his tour of Thailand, introducing us to a country that isn’t obvious from the guide books. Film needs innovators like Apichatpong to show others what is possible with this artistic medium. Film also needs viewers open to innovation, so go watch this!

A Simple Life

A Simple Life Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

A Simple Life may just restore or justify your faith in humanity. If you like character study films, than this one is for you. A beautiful study of two reserved people that express their love in their own way. Another reason to watch this film is for a unique view of Hong Kong society. We witness the passing of New Year and Autumn festivals, dodgy retirement home politics, and how to cook the best Cantonese food.

Why Watch A Simple Life?

Learn how to properly cook rice and a few other Cantonese dishes!
Get a better understanding of Hong Kong society
For a great acting performances from Deanie Ip and Andy Lau
A truly humanistic portrait of two people that you will grow to love

The Breakdown

This film is based on a true story, of a Chinese girl (Ah Tao) orphaned because of the Japanese occupation. We see Ah Tao as an old woman, having spent her life serving one family. Only one man is still living in China, Roger. We meet him sitting in an empty train station in remote China waiting for a train to take him back home. We first see Ah Tao wandering into a grocer’s refrigeration room to pick out some food.

Roger arrives home and we instantly understand his relationship with Ah Tao. He hardly acknowledges her as she places food in front of him. He even leans back and crosses his legs when she puts a plate in front of him, as if he is a high class businessman and she is a waitress. Next, we see her washing and hanging up his clothes. She even cooks Ox tongue for him (his favourite food) despite telling him it is bad for his health. She is like a mum that can’t accept that her son has grown up, whilst he is too spoilt to lose the benefits.

Their relationship only starts to develop after Ah Tao suffers a stroke in the opening minutes and requests to be put in a retirement home. His search for a retirement home is a quick insight into the retirement home business and Hong Kong society. The manager, a friend of Roger, admits that owning Retirement homes is a great business because Hong Kong has an ageing population that has access to social security payments. Also during Ah Tao’s stay in the home, we witness men begging for prostitute money, visitors that take away their gifts, and New Year celebrations. It becomes a microcosm through which we see Hong Kong society.

Conclusion

A Simple Life is a heart warming film. It centres around the relationship between an old maidservant and one of the ‘sons’ that she helped raise. Both are very sincere and reserved but still express their love for each other in ways that will make you feel happy. It will make you want to go pay a visit to your (probably) neglected older relatives.

Your Name

Image result for your name film Your Name Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Do you want to travel to Tokyo? Well here’s your ticket to Japan’s highest grossing anime since Spirited Away. You’ll see the tradition and ritual of life in the country as well as the fast paced life in Japan’s capital city. All this packaged in a romantic body-swapping high school flick. But don’t let the genre put you off, allow yourself to be awed by the magical skies, fascinated by the culture, and intrigued by the plot.

Why Watch Your Name?

You’ve watched all the Studio Ghibli films and don’t know where to find more anime
If you can’t afford a trip to Japan and want to experience Japanese culture
To see some beautifully animated skies!
It’s the 4th highest grossing film in Japan of all time! Only Spirited Away, Titanic, and Frozen have generated more money!

The Breakdown

Your Name starts with a meteor blazing through a twilight sky. The camera rotates as our protagonists say:

“The day the star fell. It was almost like seeing something out of a dream, nothing more, nothing less.

And then some Japanese pop-rock starts, reminiscent of the introductions of the anime TV shows.

Right from the start you can see the beautiful skies, particularly the beautiful twilight and magic-hour lighting that Shinkai is known for. The comet is always shown during the twilight hours to conjure a magical set of colours much like the Disney Intro. This aids the body-swapping fantasy of Mitsuha to Taki, our two protagonists, as it sets up the film as something magical (much like the Disney intro does for Disney films).

Shinkai also contrasts Tokyo city life with life in rural Japan. Whilst Mitsuha lives in a town on the bay of a lake high in the Japanese Alps, Taki lives in Tokyo. In the country, Mitsuha’s life is dominated by tradition and ritual (learn how to make spit-fermented sake). Also, the only cafe in the country is a vending machine that sells canned coffee! As said by the director;

“Mitsuha is pretty much me. Her character is based on my own upbringing. I loved Nagano but I was dying to go to Tokyo. However, the Tokyo you see in this movie is a stereotype, the image that Mitsuha dreams of and that I dreamt of when I was younger. [they both fell in love with the dream]

Conclusion

Your Name is a beautiful looking animated high-school movie that is perfect for fans of anime and John Hughes. Whilst is doesn’t have the fantastical creations of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli it does have entertainment and fun. For a dive into authentic Japanese life, I highly recommend watching this.

Ip Man

Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Ip Man is the honourable Chinese version of a Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. He has his own one-liners, develops his own enemies, and has some sweet martial arts moves. Best of all, Ip man isn’t even a fictional character! This Martial Arts treat is definitely worth a watch!

Why Watch Ip Man?

You like Martial Arts action (obvious choice).
See a possible casting choice for the next Expendables movie?
What happened to China in the Second World War? Find out here.
For montages like Rocky and some top-notch action scenes.

The films opens with a brief look at Ip Man practising Kung-Fu at home instead of attending a Kung-Fu competition in his local town. Unsatisfied with the quality of the challengers, one of the Kung-Fu leaders goes to visit Ip Man to challenge Ip Man to a secret fight. Ip Man’s wife seems pretty annoyed, but Ip Man assures her “it won’t take long”. Sure enough, Ip Man beats up the top Kung-Fu fighter in town with ease. Someone even ends up seeing the fight and tells the whole town about it to the annoyance of Ip Man and the local Kung-Fu leader.

There are two groups of enemies that Ip Man and his community encounter in this film. First there is a group from the north of China looking for people to bully. Later, there is the Japanese occupiers that suppress the Chinese population during World War Two.

The group from Northern China appear shabby. They are poorly dressed, unshaven, and slurp their noodle soup. As a result, the Southern Chinese seem more civilised and clean in comparison to their Northern neighbours. Maybe this director from Hong Kong still holds some grudges against mainland China in stereotyping these bandits.

Secondly, the Japanese come and disrupt the Southerners way of life. Their occupation is shown in the cinematography of the film, as the wide range of colours in the early part of the movie (reds, greens, browns) are switched for a lot of grey. The film looks more like a black and white movie at some points! The director uses this colour switch to emphasise the hardship and poverty under the Japanese occupation.

In addition to his portrayals of Southern China’s enemies, Director Wilson Yip has a load of incredible action scenes. The speed of the fights and clarity of the actors moves are truly awesome. It is like watching a beautiful ballet. Just pay attention to the fights as it must have taken a lot of takes and rehearsing to get all these moves perfect.

If you’re into action and/or martial arts, give this one a watch!